For psycho-history students it might be one of the most interesting films produced. The plot involves both re-creating the socio-psychological family structure of Hitler, and early cloning technology. The significant aspects of Hitlers make-up are: 1. Spoiled childhood. 2. Civil servant father. A very good movie since Eichman apparently was picked up by Israel in Argentina. The ultra-violet technology used to remove the DNA of the cloned cell and then to later impregnate with Hitlers blood or something appears to have been in the forefront of technology. Apparently the film discusses cloning <more>

of animals as a reality already in 1978. It is dated for year 2000. For computer science students the use of ultra-violet light to remove RAM software today might be interesting as well. As RAM software is put into the chip by the computer manufacturer but supposedly can be infected by virus through the ROM software technology anyway. Which would then make it impossible to start your computer. Anyway have I used up my ten lines yet? Rent this movie.

Grandiose, larger than life thriller that engrosses all the way through(by mombasa_pete)

I own this film and the excellent soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith, and also have the book by Ira Levin.This is one film that is a rarity that is based on an outstanding book, and succeeds in its adaptation because it follows the story all the way through. the only other case I can think of is Silence of the Lambs.The acting by Peck and Olivier is not hammy or OTT as lesser reviewers here have criticized; they are finely tuned, powerful performances by two masterful actors with real presence and skill. Larger than life characters are needed for a project of this size and you need these larger <more>

than life actors to grab the attention from their first appearance.Peck is entirely convincing as Mengele, you get a real sense of evil from him that few other actors playing Nazis have succeeded with, and he is counterbalanced by Olivier as the weary yet sprightly Nazi hunter who has an iron will under his flamboyant exterior.As to some of the incorrect other postings, Hitler did have blue eyes, not brown. Mengele had an MD and a PhD, he was not a dentist. Read Gerard Posner's autobiography of him, see the actual photos of him, he even bears resemblance to Peck.The atmospheric photography and use of European locations as well as the score build up a real feel of the Nazi era and its echoes, you really get a sense of the strangely compelling Teutonic evil that permeated Nazi culture.In particular the flashback to the hospital scene with Mengele where he walks through his old ward, and also the scenes in Paraguay at the Nazi function and in Mengele's den.Mengele's first appearance is itself a masterpiece in pure cinema style, he lands in darkness, at an airfield in Paraguay, suddenly the awaiting military jeeps light up the airfield with their headlights, illuminating Mengele is his white suit.The score as already mentioned by Jerry Goldsmith is very Wagnerian in tone, one of his best.Now it is being remade by the same director who made Rush Hour 2, so God knows how this will turn out, but he will need to have some really fine actors on hand to even begin to compare to this outstanding version.Compare this film to a piece of modern trash like the new Mark Wahlberg conspiracy film "Shooter", and yes it is true that they don't know how to make them anymore.

Possibly due to age most reviewers do not comprehend the English accents portrayed. In most earlier 30's thru 60's all the actors whom portrayed Germans, Nazis, or east Europeans where either English or English trained actors. IE: George Sanders, Basil Rathbone, Yes even James Mason. The great Conrad Veidt, Major Strasser Casa Blanca whom actually was German Jew was type casted in USA.This film is great. When I watch same again & again I actually am Hoping Mengele wins out. This is only due to the fact the great out of character performance of Gregory Peck. Only a MAN with his <more>

real life Calibre of excellence can convey this Emotion from me, all the while I knowingly understand Mengele is EVIL Personified. Olivier performance was mediocre at best. Please note this film had many good character actor whom are German. With that contrast I understand why some viewers depict Peck's accent as Ham.Remember it is only a film. The possibilities of cloning only are needed to excite us movie watchers.. Just as the Omen with anti Christand Sting with potential corruption of our children to commit illegal scams, only shows that potential of excitation and our ability to protect our children should be Paramount.

This is such a classic piece of mystery drama, it's inconceivable that it's not better known. A late seventies film starring the cream of cinema from 20 years earlier, this follows a Nazi plot in the present day and the efforts of a Nazi hunter to put the pieces together. The elements include a number of apparently unrelated children, a decades-old plot, a series of murders, Josef Mengele, and a short appearance by one `Steven' Guttenberg, in an early film role. When you finally realise what has been going on, it ups the stakes dramatically. Well worth seeking out.

An intriguing thriller about human cloning(by paulorcbarros)

"The Boys from Brazil" 1978 - 123 minutes is an intriguing and a present-day thriller about human cloning directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the Ira Levin's book. Twenty years before the birth of the sheep Dolly, the actor Gregory Peck plays the doctor Josef Mengele, Nazi who lived refugee between Brazil and Paraguay carrying out genetic experiences. The story begins when 65 years old men started to die in various countries. A famous and obstinate Nazi hunter, Ezra Lieberman the actor Laurence Olivier , is alerted to the fact by a young American investigator and <more>

starts an investigation that will decipher a mysterious conspiracy. 94 clones of Adolf Hitler had been created and sent to families who had the same characteristics of the Nazi dictator family: parents profession, father who dies at the age of 65 years old, only son. The film shows an insane Mengele in his house in the Amazon Forest where, with the help of other survivors of the Third Reich, he commands a tenebrous project that was initiated when clones of Hitler were made from preserved sanguine cells. A scene that deserves prominence is the one where the scientist Professor Bruckner the actor Bruno Ganz shows how is the laboratory development of all the cloning process. The Professor stands out that "it is not enough the cloning of an individual to turn him into a Mozart or a Picasso, the environmental background also must be reproduced". The unquestionable and irremediable advance of the biological sciences, particularly the genetic engineering, turns out perfectly viable today what was before considered mere science fiction.

I first saw this movie in the cinema in 1978. I actually saw it several times.I have a DVD of it now.It's one of those movies where there's non-stop action from start to finish. There are even some rather amusing bits. Like the British Harrington boy's, "Don't you understand English, you a*se." He said that perfectly.Gregory Peck was excellent and it is he who should have been nominated for the Best Actor Oscar and not Olivier. Laurence Olivier was simply playing an old man. Which is exactly what he was.I would have given it a "10". Only I didn't care <more>

for the dog scene. Sickening! They should have made a sequel. With the boys as adults.

THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL opens in scenic and remote Paraguay where Barry Kohler a young Steve Guttenburg is on the trail of a mysterious gathering of former Third Reich heavy hitters, including Eduard Seibert James Mason , now in exile. As his information becomes more detailed, he contacts Ezra Lieberman Laurence Olivier , a renowned Nazi hunter. In the meantime Dr. Josef Mengele Gregory Peck makes the scene and after Kohler's bugging of a secret meeting goes wrong, Lieberman is left with only a thread of a much deeper story, which he sets about to unravel...Even though the plot is <more>

fairly well known by now, I will assume some people are not familiar with Ira Levin's book or the film. In fact the less you know about the plot the better; I think that the dust jacket gives far too much of the story away...Anyway, THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL is a film that toes a very dangerous line, I mean few film makers want to turn a man like Menegele into a camp figure. But the cast and crew handles the material with deft intelligence. The cast is fantastic: Peck, as Mengele, delivers a strong performance that never falters. In the tired yet determined Lieberman, Laurence Olivier creates a wonderful character; a late highlight of a distinguished career. James Mason, as Seibert and Bruno Ganz as a mouthpiece for outdated genetic research, do well to support the action, but are given little to do. It is Peck and Olivier that propel the film along; the violent showdown between the two men is a must see.Jerry Goldsmith supports the on screen action with a Straussian waltz to tie in the Austrian backdrop. Goldsmith also provide some terse action music for the third act of the film. This is one of the last films that Goldsmith and director Franklin J. Schaffner would collaborate on. On that note, it would seem to me high time for a more detailed retrospective of Schaffner's body of work; which includes THE WARLORD, PATTON, ISLANDS IN THE STREAM, PLANET OF THE APES, PAPILLION, LIONHEART. It is Schaffner's sensibilities that keep THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL from jumping the track. He uses steady camera work and smooth style to create a world the characters can inhabit something "over" directors of today know little about . Schaffner's style is more subtle, workman like, which may explain why he is not better known among the general populace. He keeps THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL grounded and allows his actors to flesh the characters out, which makes all the difference in the world. 8/10.

I had read "The Boys From Brazil" years before I ever saw the movie. When I did see the film, I was amazed how closely it actually tracked the brilliantly-written novel. This is an excellent thriller. The Nazi's plot is unraveled slowly, first filling you with confusion, then disbelief, and finally, astonishment & terror. As far-fetched as the Nazi's scheme sounds at first, it really is close enough to medical reality for a taste of true horror. Gregory Peck is disturbingly realistic as the Nazi doctor Mengele, who masterminds the entire fiendish plot. His character in <more>

the film is so real and sinister as to be completely believable. In fact, the entire cast does such a great job that the movie's plot strikes even closer to home. If you like well-written, well acted suspense/thrillers, this is one of the very best. I highly recommend it.

A very well done if quite implausible fictional account about a post World War II Nazi plot based in Paraguay and led by Josef Mengele that could lead to the establishment of the Fourth Reich.Gregory Peck was well cast as the evil Mengele. Having seen him primarily in "good guy" roles, I was impressed by how well he pulled off this role as one of the more sinister characters of the 20th century. Laurence Olivier also put on a good performance as the Nazi hunter Lieberman.The basics of the story I won't give it away are implausible, but strike me as the sort of thing Nazi <more>

scientists might have wanted to do if the knowledge had been around in the 1940's. Some parts are predictable I figured out who - or what - the "boys" were soon after they appeared but I must confess that I wasn't able to figure out the reason behind the killing of the 65 year old civil servants who were married to younger women until it was revealed. And the ending of the movie was appropriately spine-chilling. What will this boy indeed, these boys grow up to be, anyway?Well done, indeed. 8/10